Armstrong is a

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

in the province of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

. It lies in the southern area of the Interlake and was named after James William Armstrong, a Manitoba politician.

History

The surrounding area was settled by

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

at the start of the 20th century. Amongst the original settlers were Michael Pomaransky and Stefan Humeny who settled section 14-19-2E, approximately ten miles west of the community of Gimli. A sizeable community developed as these settlers were joined in the year 1900 by other individuals from the village of Kopychentsi, Ukraine. The hamlet of Kreuzberg received its first post office in 1910. The area was originally incorporated as three distinct rural municipalities, Armstrong, Kreuzberg and Chatfield, in 1913. Incorporating much of the marginal farmland on the western edge of the

Rural Municipality of Gimli The Rural Municipality of Gimli is a rural municipality located in the Interlake Region of south-central Manitoba, Canada, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. It is about north of the provincial capital Winnipeg. The rural municipality's ...

, this area saw a number of schools built along the railway line that was constructed three years earlier. These were located in the hamlets of Malonton, Meleb, Rembrandt and Kreuzberg. The hamlet of Kreuzburg was renamed Fraserwood during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, due to anti-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

sentiments. Its name is derived from the surname of the

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

at the time, Wood, and his wife's maiden name Fraser. The hamlet of Narcisse was named after Narcisse Leven, then the president of the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA or ICA), by the residents of Bender Hamlet, a Jewish farm colony located 2 km east of Narcisse. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the rural municipalities of Armstrong, Kreuzberg and Chatfield were dissolved, and were administered as the Local Government District of Armstrong. The region was heavily affected by failure of the wheat crop in this era, resulting in one of the most serious poverty crises in all of Manitoba."Thousands in Lake District Lack Supplies". ''

Winnipeg Tribune ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890, to August 27, 1980. The paper was founded by R.L. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who acquired the press and premises of the old ' ...

'', November 12, 1935. On September 21, 1936

Lord Tweedsmuir John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist Party (Scotland), Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the List of governo ...

, the

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

of Canada, paid a visit to the region. When the school term opened, teacher Olga Uhryniuk received an official notice from the government that the Governor General was making a Canada-wide tour and that he planned to meet with the citizens of the hamlet of Fraserwood. Tweedsmuir visited the school and made an address to the students and numerous community members. The local government district of Armstrong was subsequently reconstituted as a rural municipality in 1997. The area is also home to the Narcisse Snake Dens, a provincial

wildlife management area A wildlife management area (WMA) is a protected area set aside for the conservation of wildlife and for recreational activities involving wildlife. New Zealand There are 11 wildlife management areas in New Zealand: * Horsham Downs Wildlife Ma ...

which is the world's largest known winter den for

garter snake Garter snake is the common name for small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. They are native to North America, North and Central America, ranging from central Canada in the no ...

Communities

The rural municipality encompasses and governs the hamlets of Chatfield, Fraserwood, Inwood, Komarno, Malonton, Meleb, Narcisse, Neveton, Rembrandt, Sandridge and Silver.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Armstrong had a population of 1,967 living in 831 of its 1,056 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,792. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Climate

Gallery

Image:FRASERwood mb.jpg, Fraserwood from the air Image:Silver1 mb.jpg, Train station in Silver

Notes

External links

Official websiteManitoba Historical Society - Rural Municipality of Armstrong

Map of Armstrong R.M. at Statcan
{{coord, 50, 38, 24, N, 97, 29, 42, W, display=title, region:CA-MB_scale:500000 Armstrong